


Aurora Remix

by nagi_schwarz



Series: Number The Stars [6]
Category: Numb3rs, Stargate Atlantis, Thoughtcrimes (2003)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-27 17:11:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6292837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the comment_fic prompt: "Thoughtcrimes/Stargate Atlantis(/Numb3rs), Freya McAllister +/ John Sheppard, rewrite of any episode." Rewrite (ish) of Aurora on SGA. Caldwell POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aurora Remix

Steven Caldwell was a career soldier, had long put his trust and faith in the men and women he could trust to follow his orders to the letter. He accepted that Stargate Command was a place where a soldier had to be flexible, that because they were dealing with technologically superior enemies they needed scientists on hand to combat the science issues. As irritating as he was, a scientist like Rodney McKay, who had practical skills like physics and engineering, was useful onboard the _Daedalus_ during a mission. A mathematician like Amita Ramanujan, whose only skill was to be a human calculator, served no discernible purpose away from Atlantis. But she was part of Sheppard's team, and Elizabeth hadn't batted an eyelid about sending her along. Apparently she was gate-rated, so the pistol strapped to her thigh wasn't just decoration, but she'd opted to stay behind on the _Daedalus_ and monitor the rest of AR-1 via bodycams while they explored the Ancient battle cruiser.

Steven had the sneaking suspicion that Kleinman, the navigator, was distracted by Amita as she leaned over to watch the console beside his that was receiving the video feed from her team's bodycams. She had a headset and looked more like a telemarketer than part of an elite science and military force that saved the galaxy on a regular basis.

"Wait, Shep, give me a line on that pod right there. Can you scrub the condensation off so I can see –? No, that's a stupid idea. Because something's wrong. Something – look, they don't know they're in The Matrix."

Caldwell twitched. She called her commanding officer 'Shep'? Since she was technically a civilian, he wasn't really her commanding officer, but he was her team leader, and he deserved some kind of respect. At least call the man 'John', or Sheppard.

"Because I know, Rodney. No, that won't work either. Look, they should know that they're in a virtual environment. The system was designed to protect them, not trap them," Amita continued. She spoke so rapidly it was a wonder her team could get word in edgewise.

Steven was tempted to peer over her shoulder at what the team was doing, but he had other issues to attend to. And he didn't want to cramp her style, make her nervous, put her team at risk.

"Well, until you figure what the hold-up is, none of you are going in there."

Steven frowned. "Going in where?"

Amita glanced at him briefly. "Going into the virtual environment that the Ancients have been using to keep their minds from atrophying while they're in stasis. Between me and Rodney, we could whip up a program that would allow one of us to interface with the virtual environment so we could get information from the crew."

"Make it snappy, because if we know the Aurora is here, the Wraith will too." Steven glanced over his shoulder at his communications officer and the long-range sensor panel he was attending.

"Yes, sir," Amita said absently, and there was respect and disrespect all at once; respect in her words, disrespect in her tone. She'd spent too much time around Sheppard. "Teyla, Ronon, you two sweep. If you find the system error, report, and if I can't talk you through it, Rodney can help you. It'd be best for Shep to go in and have Rodney monitor him."

Kleinman said, "Sir, we have contacts. Look like Wraith cruisers. Two."

Steven patched into AR-1's frequency. "We have company."

"Roger that," Sheppard said, and he sounded respectful for once. "I'm going in."

"No!" Amita cried. She leaned in, peered at the screen, looked ready to reach through it and strangle Sheppard. Now she knew how his commanding officers had felt in the past. "Dammit, Rodney, how could you? Hold still! Well then take off the damn camera and post it somewhere I have steady visual on him. Then take the camera off of him and post it somewhere I have steady visual and keep yours. The inside of the pod isn't helpful. No, I'm not carrying a makeup compact! What kind of woman do you think I am? _Don't_ answer that. You wouldn't have asked Teyla that. Finally. Thank you. No, stay near him. I need you to pull him out when I tell you."

That was it. The one-sided conversation was making Steven crazy. He stood up and paced across the bridge to where Amita was, stood beside her so he could see what was happening on the screen. It was split into four: a steady view of Sheppard inside the pod disturbingly up close; shaky views of Teyla and Ronon from each other's bodycams; and McKay filming himself with one hand while he worked.

"Okay, he's in contact with a crewman," Amita said, and Rodney nodded.

Steven squinted at the screen. How could she possibly know that? The view of McKay's laptop was inscrutable.

Amita's brow furrowed as she watched Sheppard intently. "Something's wrong."

Rodney blinked at the camera but didn't say a thing.

"I can't tell yet," Amita said, and was she talking to herself? She shook her head. "I can't quite – it's a complex illusion. But I think –" Amita suddenly doubled over, clutching at her skull.

Kleinman was on his feet in an instant, hands at her shoulders to steady her. "Dr. Ramanujan!"

"Wraith! Rodney, it's a Wraith. Pull him out. Pull him out!"

On the screen, McKay popped open the pod Sheppard was in.

"Teyla, Ronon. There's a Wraith in one of the pods. Find it. Kill it." Amita struggled to stay upright, clutching Kleinman's arm with a white-knuckled hand. Her chest was heaving. "Rodney, you and Shep need to find the captain. He'll be wearing a different uniform. Shep should recognize it. I need eyes on him immediately. Teyla, Ronon, if you can get me eyes on the Wraith – I know it's dangerous, but we need to know if it knows, and if it's reported back to its hive."

"Dr. Ramanujan, are you all right?" Kleinman asked.

Amita ignored him, watching the screen intently. Steven didn't know how she wasn't throwing up with the way the camera footage was bouncing as Teyla and Ronon dashed through the corridors in search of the Wraith in the pod.

"There – there!" Amita pointed at the screen, ineffectually, but some of the nauseating camera footage stopped. "Back up a couple of pods. There."

Steven shuddered at the sight of the desiccated, mummified corpse on the floor next to one of the pods. He didn't recognize the pale, soft-looking clothes, but he knew the signs of Wraith feeding. Above the pod was something inky and black and blinking. Wraith tech.

One of the cameras turned, and Teyla peered into it, brow furrowed in concern, but she didn't say a word.

Amita said, "Shep and Rodney are looking for the captain. I'll have to do this without them. Dave here can help me out." She looked at Kleinman. "Right, Dave?"

He blinked at her. "How do you know my name?"

Amita stepped toward him. "This is going to sound crazy, but I need you to put your arms around me and hold me really, really tight. Like we're brother and sister and you haven't seen me in a long time."

Kleinman cast Steven a look. Stephan fixed Amita with a look.

"What's going on, Dr. Ramanujan?"

"I need to see what the Wraith knows about the communique the Aurora was bringing back to Atlantis, about a potential weakness in Wraith technology," Amita said. "And I need someone to ground me."

"I don't understand." Steven frowned at her. "How can you possibly see what the Wraith knows?"

"Sir, I don't have time to explain, and I suspect you don't have the clearance." Amita lifted her chin at Kleinman. "Ready?" She glanced back at the screen. Ronon and Teyla had opened the Wraith pod – it was dizzying, seeing the same scene from two different angles – and then one camera was being fixed with a full view of the Wraith.

Steven shook his head, but Amita stepped into Kleinman's space, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and spun them both so she could still see the screens. Then her expression went terribly slack, like there was no one inside her head, and Steven knew something was wrong.

She began to shake, and Kleinman hastily wrapped his arms around her, steadying her once more. Blood began to drip out of one of her nostrils, and the cords in her neck were standing out. She was taut from head to toe, like a guitar strung wound too tight, ready to snap at any moment.

Teyla and Ronon were peering into a shared camera, speaking, but Steven had no idea what they were saying.

Amita screamed.

Kleinman tightened his grip on her, eyes wide. "Sir, what do I –"

Steven stepped in, used his body to trap Amita's arms and legs while she thrashed. She wasn't seizing. This was something else. This was –

Amita slumped over.

Steven's radio crackled on. "Sir, this is Sheppard. Amita's not responding to comms. What's going on?"

Teyla popped onto the radio. "She said she was going to try to see what the Wraith knew."

"Without me there? What the hell was she thinking?"

"She," Amita gasped, "was thinking that there are two hive ships on the way, and I needed to know if they'd been told the intel." Her gaze was hazy and unfocused, and her nose was still bleeding, but her shakes had abated. She didn't seem to notice that she was sandwiched between two men she barely knew.

Kleinman radioed for medical assistance, but Amita shook her head.

"I'm fine. It'll pass. Wraith are – difficult."

"What the hell just happened?" Steven demanded.

Amita staggered back to the video screen. "Have you found the captain? Because the Wraith erased the communique from the ship's computer."

"Amita!" Sheppard snapped. "When I get back, you and I are going to have words about this."

"When you get back," she said, and smiled grimly. "You have to find me the captain first."

Kleinman managed to convinced Amita to take his chair, which he pushed so she could still see her video console.

"You all right?" Ronon asked.

Amita wiped her nose with the back of her hand, grimaced when she saw the blood. "Fine. End the Wraith."

Ronon whipped out his stunner.

"Away from the pod, so you don't fry anyone else," Amita reminded him.

Teyla forcibly disconnected the Wraith from the pod, dragged it onto the floor, and Ronon shot it twice in rapid succession.

On the other screens, the video feed was bouncing as Sheppard and McKay trotted through the rows and rows of pods, searching for the captain. Every once in a while Sheppard would turn his camera on himself, glare at the lens, and then keep running. Steven knew a well-oiled team could communicate without words when necessary, but what was happening between the members of AR-1 was uncanny. The video skidded to a halt, and McKay reached out to swiped a hand over a pod, rub away the condensation so they could see what was inside.

"Dammit," Amita said. "He didn't know what was in the communique. Too sensitive for him. If the Wraith wiped it off the ship's computer, then the info's gone for good. At least he didn't manage to send it back to his hive. If the vulnerability is still there, we can exploit it."

How the hell did she know what she knew?

Sheppard peered into the camera lens, nodded, and then he lifted a hand to his radio. "Sir, how far away are the Wraith ships?"

"Close enough that you should bug out if you can."

"Roger that."

Amita sank back in Kleinman's chair. She was exhausted and pale. "Sir," she said to Steven. "The Wraith was trying to make modifications to the hyperdrive so a hive ship could utilize it to try to get to Earth. Either we capture the _Aurora_ , or we blow it so they can't have it. Which do we have time for?"

Steven had had enough. "How do you _know_ that?"

"The same way I know you think I'm a human calculator, that it's disrespectful the way I refer to my direct military superior officer as Shep, and that I'm talking to myself half of the time. The same way I knew Kleinman's first name and that you think he's attracted to me."

Kleinman looked startled. "What? Sir, I –"

"The same way I know he plans to propose to his girlfriend the next time he's on leave. You're not cleared to know how I know what I know," Amita said. "You just have to trust that I do know. So, can we harvest the ship's hyper drive or not?"

Steven tapped on his radio. "McKay –"

"What now?"

"Bring me the hyper drive."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Bring it or blow it before the Wraith get here." On Sheppard's shaky bodycam footage, McKay scowled, so Steven said, "Dr. Ramanujan says so." He was both gratified and annoyed to see the scowl vanish, see McKay frown thoughtfully. Then he was on his radio to Teyla and Ronon, and they ran for the engine room.

"How long, Rodney?" Amita asked.

"How long till the hive ships get here?"

The communications officer said, "Twenty minutes."

"Give me seventeen. Otherwise I'll rig it to blow. McKay out."

Amita smiled faintly. "He'll do it in fifteen."

Belatedly, Steven noticed blood dripping from her left ear.

And then she slumped over, unconscious.

Kleinman tapped his radio. "Medics to the bridge!"


End file.
